Theatre News

WOS Radio: Heart of the West End panel tackle future of West End

Editorial Staff
London's West End

Whatsonstage.com Award-winning playwright Richard Bean joined a panel including Jack Bradley, literary Associate at Sonia Friedman Productions, chief executive of the Society of London Theatre Julian Bird and Guardian theatre critic Lyn Gardner yesterday (26 March 2012) at The Heart of the West End conference at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket.

The panel, titled “The Future of the West End”, was chaired by Variety critic and academic Karen Fricker and formed part of a two-day event organised by the Department of Drama & Theatre at Royal Holloway in association with the Theatre Royal, Haymarket and the V&A.

The Heart of the West End conference took place at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket – currently home to Bean’s adaptation of Carlo Goldoni’s classic 18th-century Italian comedy The Servant of Two Masters, One Man, Two Guvnors – and brought together some of the UK’s leading academics, theatre owners, makers, managers, performers for industry-lead round-table discussions and a variety of academic papers.

Whatsonstage.com live-tweeted the “Future of the West End” panel. Full audio from the panel is available below and has also been released as a Whatsonstage.com podcast.

To listen to the interview, click the ‘play’ button above; or to subscribe and download from iTunes, click here.



The Future of the West End panel at the Heart of the West End conference. Photo credit: Dean O’Brien


Lyn Gardner, Julian Bird & Karen Fricker. Photo credit: Dean O’Brien


Lyn Gardner, Julian Bird, Karen Fricker, Richard Bean & Jack Bradley. Photo credit: Dean O’Brien